Over the past three days, the monsters had grown tremendously.
I was stunned.
This was, in a sense, what you'd call evolution.
Giving a name — was it the act that prompted a monster's evolution?
Come to think of it, Veldora had mentioned something about giving names...
Right — "Nameless" and "Named Monster."
That was it! For monsters, receiving a name meant becoming a "Named Monster."
It elevated their rank as monsters, and as a result, they evolved!
No wonder they were so overjoyed.
The reason my Magicules had been drained so completely was now perfectly clear.
The evolution of monsters was incredible.
Rather than saying they'd grown, they could practically be called entirely different creatures now.
The goblins' cloudy eyes now sparkled with a gleam of intelligence, and the female goblins in particular had...
Belie it or not, they'd actually become rather feminine.
I was so stunned I couldn't even speak.
Huh? ...Huh????
I had to do a double-take.
They'd been creatures resembling little monkeys with pointy ears, and now look at them.
The male goblins had evolved into "Hobgoblins."
The female goblins had evolved into "Gobrina."
Each of them had undergone their own evolution.
When I asked
But here's the thing. It was quite problematic.
The female goblins had been wrapping themselves in tattered rags, but whether it was due to the evolution or what, their revealing state was... well, it was rather alluring, to put it mildly.
You couldn't just write them off as "female gobs" anymore.
The males looked at them with obvious delight on their faces.
Even though they themselves were only wearing loincloths...
Clothing first. Food and shelter could wait — clothing had to be dealt with immediately.
Then there was a separate issue entirely:
Perhaps he was thrilled that I'd recovered, because he kept clinging to me and wouldn't let go.
For someone who loved fluffy things, this might have been paradise, but I was more of a cat person, honestly.
Not that I disliked dogs, though.
"Hey, Ranga — I only gave a name to you, right? So why did all the Fang Wolves evolve too?"
That was the thing — when I gave Ranga his name, I'd completely run out of Magicules...
"My Lord! We, the Fang Wolf tribe, are 'All yet One'! Because of this, my name became the name of our entire species!"
Ah, so that was how it worked.
As a shared name, the entire species had evolved all at once.
According to him, the previous boss hadn't truly believed in the concept of "All yet One."
If he had, that battle might have played out very differently.
In contrast, Ranga had achieved complete dominion over his kin.
Through that, the Fang Wolf tribe had successfully evolved into the Storm Fang Wolf tribe.
Well, in short, he was saying they'd gotten stronger!
He looked like he really wanted praise, so I said: "Good job!"
And he started wagging his tail so hard it looked like it might fly off.
Being wagged at by a wolf that was essentially a five-meter monster was enough to send me flying from the sheer wind pressure.
When I glared at him, he drooped his head, which was honestly pretty funny.
But the real problem was figuring out where to keep all of these creatures.
The wolves that had paired up with hobgoblins seemed to be sleeping together...
Actually, all their homes had been destroyed, so they were using the wolves' warmth as substitutes for bedding.
Clothing was an issue, and so was housing.
Now then, what to do.
In front of me, food was piled up like a mountain.
This was the answer to my earlier questions about the food situation.
Apparently, the moment I'd exhausted my Magicules, they'd all begun their evolution.
The evolution was completed in a single day, and they'd wanted to celebrate both the joy of evolution and the end of the battle with a feast! But since I hadn't recovered yet, they hadn't gotten permission, so they'd gone ahead and gathered food first.
During the Magicules depletion, I'd noticed them fighting over who got to wipe my body down, but I hadn't been aware of the evolution or the food gathering.
The low-activity state really left you wide open. I'd need to be more careful in the future.
Still, their initiative — the willingness to act without waiting for my orders — that was something I could appreciate.
It seemed their intelligence had increased dramatically thanks to the evolution.
Perhaps the mental effects had been even greater than the physical ones.
Before evolving, as regular goblins, they'd survived by gathering nuts and wild plants, or hunting edible monsters and animals.
Now that they were operating alongside the Storm Fang Wolf tribe, their range of activity had expanded dramatically.
Even more surprising was that paired partners could apparently use "Thought Communication" with each other.
Hobgoblins riding wolves — and they were far superior to cavalry.
Their combat power could no longer be measured with simple addition.
They'd apparently been able to hunt monsters they previously couldn't have touched, as if it were nothing.
In just these two days, they'd gathered more food than ever before.
But still.
A life that depended solely on what the forest provided would be problematic if anything went wrong.
Eventually, I'd want to set up agriculture and rice farming.
A stable food supply was fundamental.
I'd need to start by researching whether there were crops suitable for farming or rice strains available...
But that was a problem for another day!
For now, let's just enjoy the feast without overthinking things!
That day, they celebrated the evolution, celebrated the end of the battle, celebrated my recovery, and the feast continued late into the night!
The next day.
I gathered everyone together.
There were mountains of things to address going forward, but I needed to communicate the most important matter.
That was the set of rules for living in this village!
These kinds of things needed to be decided right from the start.
Group living required rules — as a Japanese person, that was just common sense.
Sure, there were adults who'd say silly things like "Rules are meant to be broken, not followed!" (mainly yours truly), but that kind of attitude wouldn't cut it.
I'd come up with just three basic rules.
These three were the minimum I wanted enforced.
Other detailed rules I planned to delegate entirely.
"Everyone gathered? Good — I'm announcing the rules! There are three. I want you to follow at least these three."
I called out and announced the three rules.
1. Do not attack humans. 2. Do not fight among comrades. 3. Do not look down on other species.
Those were the three.
If I overthought it, the list would only keep growing, and I doubted they'd be able to follow them all from the start anyway.
I'd listed what I considered to be the most important points.
Now then, how would they react?
"May I ask! Why must we not attack humans?"
Rigul raised a question.
Rigurd glared at his son with a demonic expression. Did it seem like an act against my wishes?
It would be nice if they'd be a little more casual with me.
"It's simple. Because I like humans! That's it."
"I see! Understood!"
Huh? You... understood that?
No, no, no — just like that?
But looking around at everyone, no one seemed to have any complaints.
I'd expected more pushback, and the whiff of that missed completely.
"Here's the thing — humans live in groups. If you provoke them, there could be serious retaliation.
If they come at us with real intent, we might not be able to handle it.
So, no provoking humans from our side!
Besides, getting along with them benefits us more..."
Reluctantly, I presented the prepared excuse I'd come up with.
Needless to say, "I like humans" was my real reason. After all, I used to be one!
Ranga was nodding deeply at this explanation.
He seemed to have his own thoughts on the matter.
For him too, there must have been good reasons not to provoke humans.
The hobgoblins wore expressions that said they understood on an even deeper level.
"Any other questions?"
"What about 'do not look down on other species'...?"
"Well, you've all evolved and gotten stronger, right? Don't get cocky and start acting superior to weaker species — that's what I mean.
Just because you've gotten a little stronger doesn't mean you've become something great!
If the other side eventually grows stronger and comes back for revenge, wouldn't that suck?"
Everyone listened intently.
I think it was going to be fine.
Of course, even after this advice, there would inevitably be some who didn't listen.
Still, it was better to minimize the causes of trouble as much as possible.
"That's about it. Do your best to follow these rules!"
And just like that, I established the new rules for this village.
However, these very rules would one day give rise to a tragedy.
Naturally, there was no way I could have foreseen it at this time.
After all, without the power of a god, no one could see everything coming...
Everyone nodded and showed their agreement.
And so, a new chapter of communal living began.
Now then, after establishing the rules came the division of roles.
Those assigned to patrol and guard the perimeter of the village.
The team responsible for gathering food.
The team tasked with collecting production materials for the village.
Those in charge of building homes and crafting tools.
Village patrols would be handled by the remaining Storm Fang Wolves who were capable of Thought Communication.
There were seven remaining pairs, but since Ranga was glued to me, the remaining six would handle patrol duties.
The detailed assignments were left to Rigurd, the former village chief.
"Rigurd! I'm appointing you as the 'Goblin Lord'! Take good care of the village!"
To be blunt, I was throwing everything on him.
I mean, I really, truly, pitched the whole thing at him with all my might.
But think about it.
In my previous life, I'd worked at a construction company. Ruling and governing? Not my thing.
More importantly, being stuck in this village and unable to visit human towns would be a real problem.
I had to get him to take it on, even if it was a bit forceful.
That was what I thought, but...
"Ha ha!!! I, Rigurd, swear upon my very life that I will accept this task!!!"
He choked back tears of joy and accepted without the slightest hesitation.
Right. I was basically going to be the big-mouth leader as always.
"Reign but do not rule" — I thought it was a fine philosophy. Just gotta keep talking.
Speaking of Rigurd, he'd been a frail, withered, practically dying old goblin...
But now he was a muscular, powerful hobgoblin in the prime of life.
He might even be stronger than his son Rigul!
What on earth was going on — monsters were truly unfathomable.
"Mm. I'm counting on you. Also, I saw the houses being built — they're pretty rough."
To be blunt, they could hardly be called houses.
"It's quite embarrassing... We've never needed buildings this large before, so..."
"I see. Well, you've all grown bigger now. As for clothing — the exposure level is a bit extreme. Can't you source any?"
"Ah! There are some people we've traded with on occasion. They might be able to help with clothing!
Plus, they're quite skilled — they might know how to build houses as well!"
Hmm.
I'd worked at a construction company myself, so I could tell good work from bad, but my own skills were strictly DIY level.
I didn't have the expertise to instruct anyone, but if there were trading partners who could help guide us...
It seemed worth paying them a visit.
"I see. A visit might be a good idea, then. So, what did you trade with them? Money?"
"Well, we do have some gold and such stripped from adventurers, but it's just sitting unused.
Rather than money, we traded goods and odd jobs for supplies.
Our tools were actually prepared by those people."
"Oh? And who are these people?"
"The Dwarf race!"
Dwarves!
The legendary race known as their mastery of smithing!
I had to go!
I'd been putting this off while preoccupied with clothing, but their equipment was also pretty terrible.
Their armor had been little more than rags, and now that they'd evolved, none of it fit anymore.
We could improve that too!
But he'd said the salvageable loot from adventurers was gone, and we didn't have much money either.
What could we use for trading... I'd have to figure that out later.
"I'll go. Rigurd, can I leave the preparations to you?"
"!!! Leave it to me! By noon today, everything will be ready!!!"
Rigurd was fired up.
I'd leave this to him. With money on the line, he'd make sure everything was prepared.
The currency of this world, huh... if it turned out to be paper bills, I'd laugh my head off.
Come to think of it, I wasn't carrying anything myself either.
If I were going to a human town, I'd need to look into the monetary system too.
Well, that could wait until after meeting the dwarves.
Things had been hectic lately — might as well take it easy and go meet the dwarves while I was at it.
Eventually, I'd have to visit a human town.
Dwarves were a demi-human race, but the place they lived was apparently a decently sized city.
I heard they even had a king, though goblins apparently couldn't even get an audience.
Still, even just being allowed in the city was something.
Would there be discrimination against goblins?
I was technically a monster slime — would I cause a commotion?
I had all sorts of worries, but my excitement about meeting the dwarves far outweighed them.
For the first time in a while, I was genuinely looking forward to something.
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